Book picks similar to
Quantum Shift by Kyle Johnson


litrpg
cultivation
system-apocalypse
gamelit

Chrysalis


R.P. Jones - 2020
    With regenerative abilities, a badass tail and the potential to evolve his body, how could Art resist choosing a lizard man as his avatar? All’s well until he accidentally joins forces with an acid-spitting, enemy-consuming shadow-bound grub, causing his light-bound guild members turn against him, and a deadly fire mage to wage a vendetta against him.Venturing through enchanted forests, into mage enclaves atop ice-capped mountains, through thief-ridden sewers and into ancient temples, Art must defeat the Legendary Beasts and claim their gems of power before his enemies can stop him.With the odds stacked against him, it’s time for Art to undergo some dangerous and unique training.It’s time for him to evolve!

Goblin Summoner


Tracy Gregory - 2021
    Dropped into a world where sorcerers draw magical power from a deck of cards, summoning monsters and flinging spells, Gareth must adapt to having arcane power at his fingertips. It’s just a shame he’s found himself with the weakest cards around—goblins!Joined by a fallen goddess, a deposed demon king and surly local, Gareth sets out into Acamida. In a realm where experience points and levels are very real, Gareth must grow stronger if he intends to have his second life last longer than his first. With monsters around every corner and dungeons beneath his feet, Acamida is a dangerous place.As Gareth finds new cards and grows in power, the rumbles of war stir in the west. If he’s going to survive Gareth will need to master his deck and find the strength hidden within his goblin allies.

World-Tree Online


E.A. Hooper - 2018
     In 2056, the world’s most powerful AI System, ARKUS, comes online. Created to extend human lifespans, it quickly designs new kinds of nanomachine therapies, in addition to making world-changing discoveries in health science. It also develops an advanced VR headset that uses consumable nanomachines to allow users to experience time faster in virtual worlds. Two years later, ARKUS releases World-Tree Online. The game’s time-dilation makes it so that one hour of playtime feels like one month to those in-game, allowing humans to live extended, virtual lives that feel real. However, shortly after an old gamer named Vincent joins World-Tree Online, an update begins that stretches the time-dilation to one year for every five seconds. Players are unable to exit the game during the update—with an estimated wait time of three hundred sixty years. While trapped in the game, Vincent discovers an exploit in the physics that might take him higher up the World-Tree than he ever expected. Unfortunately, he crosses paths with the last moderator in the game, a young man named Lucas that uses his mod abilities to torture and subjugate other players. Lucas is willing to abuse his power to conquer the World-Tree, but Vincent’s exploit might just be the key to stopping him.

Path of the Necromancer


Deck Davis - 2019
    In an RPG-like world, he makes his magic stronger by practising his spells and using them in clever ways. When he takes his first academy assignment, he finds trouble. Cut off from the protection of the academy and in a hostile land, he'll have to improvise if he wants to survive.  He needs to level up, learn new spells, and use them in creative ways. Necromancers have the power to cheat death...but that doesn't mean they can escape it.Read Path of the Necromancer now!

NPCs


Drew Hayes - 2014
    Once the dust settles, these four find themselves faced with an impossible choice: pretend to be adventurers undertaking a task of near-certain death or see their town and loved ones destroyed. Armed only with salvaged equipment, second-hand knowledge, and a secret that could get them killed, it will take all manner of miracles if they hope to pull off their charade.And even if they succeed, the deadliest part of their journey may well be what awaits them at its end.

Mortal


Mrdojo - 2019
    A series of near death encounters force Asan to flee from his world with a sacred item that once belonged to a legendary figure from an ancient clan.Transported into the World of Realms, Asan wakes up in the body of an assassinated ten-year-old boy. He finds himself thrown into a strange new world— A world of cultivation and magical beasts. Thrown into the world as a mortal, Asan struggles to survive against the various powers that seek to destroy him.With the help of a highly-feared cultivator, he must battle to transcend his mortal roots and understand the mysteries of the World of Realms. This a story that has a fantastic blend of Western and Eastern themes. Those who love Wuxia, epic, and dark fantasies would definitely enjoy this novel. It could also be regarded as a coming of age novel in a mythical and dystopian world.

Terra Nova


Vowron Prime - 2021
    Like a machine. But when his family’s life is on the line, that’s something else. That calls for the kind of warm-blooded vengeance that scorches earth and summons tungsten rods from space, leaving a whole lot of melted flesh and no one to tell the tale.It should've been a blue milk run. As by-the-book as it gets. With his sister Nina out safe and the opposition decimated by hypersonic gunfire, Magnus wonders where they got the guts to even try. Then something hits him. Lays him out cold, and leaves him waking up to a fantasyland with nothing but his armor and a half-written note to guide him.It's a strange place where even stranger predators eye him for their next meal. Where his life’s on a timer, and where the darkest horrors haunt his dreams, painting visions of death.There's no right day to mess with Magnus Cromwell. But the universe sure managed to pick the absolute worst one.Experience the start of a kickass LitRPG/GameLit Saga from debut author Vowron Prime.About the series: Embark on a jam-packed action adventure with an overpowered protagonist that seamlessly merges epic battles with mystery, survival, and elements of Lovecraftian horror. Dragons, magic, and medieval fantasy meet cyberpunk technology in this rollercoaster of a ride that starts fast and never lets up. Experience a unique take on a LitRPG system whose true, gory nature is uncovered bit by bit as Magnus progresses through his epic journey in a land of horrors. And with four detailed art scenes of fantastical locations inspired by an author who has journeyed from Antarctica to Kilimanjaro, you won't want to put the book down!

Enemy of the World


Road Warrior - 2017
     But no matter how much he raised his strength, there were still some things he could not achieve with physical strength alone; Facing the Devil King of the 'Other World', Sungchul is forced to accept this fact. Resolving to obtain the power of magic, he goes into hiding to learn Magic from his most hated of enemies; The Mages.

Death Awoken


M.Q. Kajack - 2018
    With no physical body, all of its previous memories messed up and without a clear name, our MC starts his journey. Fused on its soul a strange System that will help him be stronger on this strange unknown new world. To claim back all that has been stripped away, he must first generate a body. For this, the system reveals that it needs to collect sufficient XP points by absorbing forces, death auras, regaining fundamental skills like talking and weapon wielding to go on dangerous missions. One kill equals one death point. The more quests he goes on, and the strong beasts and humans slew – the more the Death Core whispers in his ear and torments his soul. “I know one thing, Death brings me peace.” This tale is a GameLit adventure that will have you rolling over the pages to see what consequences lie ahead! It is not for the fainthearted, it requires a steady hand, a strategic mind – and a strong stomach.

Ball of Light: Evolution


AR Chen - 2019
    Heck, he doesn't know what he is. Despite his spotty memory, he's pretty sure he didn't used to be a floating ball of light. He's also certain that he's not originally from this dangerous fantasy world...maybe. Okay, fairly certain. To make things stranger, he seems to be involved in something big, something magical...a game. Who was he before? Will his memories come back? Why does he have an assistant explaining the game's rules to him? He can evolve? There's a countdown timer? One thing Steve does know is that he needs to figure out what's going on fast, and if he is playing a game, even a deadly one, he plans to win.

Vindication


N.H. Paxton - 2019
     Really his world ended six months ago when his wife died, and ever since then, things have been downhill. Soul-crushing medical debt. Favors to the Russian mafia. Now, asteroid. For Vlad, this is life in a nutshell. But, in a wild twist of fate, he has found a way out. A chance to start fresh in a brand-new ultra-immersive MMORPG called Viridian Gate Online. Making the leap might kill him, but again, death is not such a bad thing for a man with nothing to live for. Even in the virtual world, however, old grudges burn true, and the past is not as far gone as it seems. He must use his quick wits, rugged persistence, and peculiar set of skills as a weapons engineer to make a place for himself in this new world, or be forcibly dragged back into the very life he fought so hard to escape.

Dravincia


Blake Severson - 2019
     A Goddess is stirring up trouble, and Arthur happens to be the one caught up in the action. After an unfortunate encounter, Arthur is given a second chance in a new world. To his surprise, this new world has mechanics that remind him of Role-Playing Games from Earth. He has been given a simple directive from the Goddess, to help the people of the world and spread her name. He quickly discovers this will not be an easy task. The world has been overrun with bandits, who work for the lords of the land and cause all the denizens to live in abject ruin. Can Arthur tame Dravincia and push back against these forces or is he destined to fail spectacularly and have to hope for another try?

First Orbit


Nathan A.Thompson - 2019
    Jasper Cloud is the final non-person on Earth, the orphan son of the last two executed citizens in the Global Republic. He struggles daily to survive in a world where old knowledge is now illegal. When a new light appears in the night sky, his only friend suddenly becomes a young woman with the power to undo the current reign of tyranny. But hidden enemies are already waiting, both for her and the ship empowering her. Jasper slips through the cracks of their trap, empowered as well. If he is careful, he can refine his newfound strength further, repair the damaged ship, and rescue the woman now determined to tear down the corrupt Republic with her bare hands. Provided he can survive, that is. Will Wight's Cradle cultivation series meets George Orwell's 1984. Hope you enjoy.

He Who Fights with Monsters


Shirtaloon - 2021
    At least, Jason tries to be heroic, but it's hard to be good when all your powers are evil.He’ll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters...and that’s just on the first day. He’s going to need courage, he’s going to need wit, and he’s going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, he’s going to need pants.After cementing itself as one of the best-rated serial novels on Royal Road with an astonishing 13 million views, He Who Fights with Monsters is now available on Kindle.About the series: Experience an isekai culture clash as a laid-back Australian finds himself in a very serious world. See him gain suspiciously evil powers through a unique progression system combining cultivation and traditional LitRPG elements. Enjoy a weak-to-strong story with a main character who earns his power without overshadowing everyone around him, with plenty of loot, adventurers, gods and magic. Rich characters and world-building offer humor, political intrigue and slice-of-life elements alongside lots of monster fighting and adventure.

Reincarnation


Michael Head - 2021
    A man fated to destroy it. There’s a prophecy to ignore.Jim was thrust back in time, returned to his body at the moment he started cultivating. Anyone else might have given up, but Jim doesn’t have that option. He’s already made the mistakes that doomed him in his first life, and he knows what to do to make it right. Jim wants to right the wrongs of the past… or, future? All while a pair of angry gods torture him through lack of sleep.He must find a way to reach the top of the cultivation world without drawing the attention of those who would take his knowledge of the future for themselves. Jim has seen how the world ended, and he is determined to fight his way through the world’s hidden foes and defeat his destiny.Weakened to merely a shadow of his former strength, he quickly learns that fighting alone may not be his best option, even though fate seems to like it that way.Luckily for the world, Jim thinks fate is stupid. He doesn’t care what it wants.